i’ve been to three shows in the last two weeks and, even at two and a half hours, my drive to albany for the mystic truth tour was the shortest i’d had. believe me, though, when i say that it would have been worth it to drive nine hours round trip for this gig.
the mystic truth tour was initially meant to be played at the lucky strike social club when it rolled through albany, but that venue closed unexpectedly, so it was moved to the significantly smaller pearl street pub.
first up was ultra q - formerly known as mt. eddy, a band i used to listen to but hadn’t realized they’d reformed this spring - who shredded everybody’s faces off. they had a relatively short set, as openers, and most of the songs they played came from their EP, we’re starting to get along, released through dcd2 records in early september. some songs of theirs i’d recommend are “we’re starting to get along,” “gool,” and “what d’you call it.”
the second set was from liily, one of my new favorite bands. i’d started listening to them this summer, before i realized they were going out on tour with bad suns, and they melted my face off as much as ultra q did. their setlist hasn’t been posted online, but of the songs they played (and those they’ve released in general), my favorites are “wash,” “the weather,” “sold,” and “toro.” they recently put out an EP, as well, titled i can fool anybody in this town.
listen. bad suns always put on a fantastic show. and even though christo was practically on his DEATHBED, he still managed to knock us all off our feet. ray, miles, and gavin all amped up their (already pretty f’n amped) performances so christo didn’t have to push himself. it was a sweaty time in a tiny room and i’ll cherish seeing bad suns in such an intimate venue forever.
their setlist was incredible, too. they played dedicated fans’ favorites as well as the songs that made them big - “cardiac arrest,” “salt,” and “daft pretty boys,” to name a few. it was a party sprinkled with soft, slow moments. even if you didn’t know any of their songs, you would still have a good time at a bad suns show.
i genuinely enjoyed all three bands individually - i’ve seen bad suns before, they’re one of my favorite bands, have been for years, and i even have a tattoo for one of their songs - but i strongly believe that each band on the bill draws such a significantly different fanbase from their tourmates that the crowd had a hard time melding. everyone around me still had the time of their lives, though, it seemed. i would absolutely recommend seeing any of these bands the next time they roll through your city/state/tri-state area.